Cigarette making device



Sept. 23, 1947. R. w. SNODGRASS CIGARETTE MAKING DEVICE FIG- 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1945 FIG. 3

INVENTOR ROBERT W 3/VODGRASS TTORN Patented Sept. 23, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CIGARETTE MAKING DEYICEv Robert W. Snodgrass, Mount Morris, Mich. Application February 26, 1945 Seriali No. ':79, 791 4 Claims (01. 131 -73) This invention relates to a device for making cigarettes and particularly to the type thereof which are manually manipulated by an individual user.

Over a long period of time there have been placed on the market various kinds of cigarette making devices adapted for making cigarettes singly by the manual manipulation of an ultimate user. These have all had greater or lesser degrees of success for they all have contained certain disadvantages which has rendered theiruse spasmodic and often not entirely satisfactory. The problem is first to construct a forming mechanism which is light and compact and can be easily carried in a pocket by the individual user. Secondly, the problem includes placing such mechanism in communication with a container for loose tobacco so that said tobacco will feed directly into the forming mechanism for tamping into a suitably held cigarette paper so that there is no danger of said loose tobacco escaping improperly from said container and being spilled. Thirdly, it is essential that the paper .be held firmly so that the tobacco may betamped in solidly and yet it is equally necessary that the com.- pleted cigarettes be readily released for easy ejection.

In the prior devices for this purpose known to me, there have been various weaknesses. In some the paper is not held firmly so that the tobacco is not tamped solidly, and in others the paper is held firmly enough but the completed cigarette is difficult to eject. In some, the tamping .bar

. fails to be self-clearingso that the tobacco packs around it rather than falling in front of it to be pushed into the cigarette. In others the. mechanism is elaborate and correspondingly expensive.

It has, therefore, been my purpose in developing the hereinafter disclosed device to correct these various weaknesses and to satisfy the conditions outlined above.

Accordingly, the major object of my invention has been to provide a cigarette making device of the type above-specified which will effectively, rapidly, and without great manipulative skill make a well formed and solidly packed cigarette.

A further object of my invention has been to provide a cigarette maker of the type abovespecified which is self-contained and compact, so that it may easily be carried in the pocket of the individual user and will not spill tobacco either while it is being carried unused or while I it is beingused.

'A further object of myinventionhas beento provide a cigarette making device of the type above-specified which may be easily constructed of inexpensive parts and can accordingly be sold at a low price.

A further object of my invention has been to provide a cigarette making device of the type above-specified which is simple to operate so that its manipulation can be readily learned and easily carried out.

Other similar and related objects and purposes for my invention will be apparent to one acquainted with the art upon the reading of the following specification and inspection of the ac companying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 represents a view mostly in central section of the cigarette forming device in one position of the operating cycle.

Figure 2 shows another View, mostly in central section, of my device in another position of the operating cycle.

Figure 3 shows the mandrel, partly in section.

Figure 4 shows an oblique view of the tamping end of the tamper.

Figure 5 is an exaggerated sectional view showing the internal contour of the forming tube.

Although it will be apparent that my cigarette making mechanism is operable in, or with, any convenient tobacco carrying package, and that it may be made from several types of materials, it will be assumed for the purpose of explanation herein that its parts are mostly plastic tubing and rods of characteristics hereinafter specified, and mounted in a plastic container of a size easily carried in a vest or coat pocket. My device is well adapted for this type of construction and when so made it is not only inexpensive to construct but is highly effective for satisfying the above-named objects and purposes.

Referring now to the particular embodiment of my invention which I have chosen for illustration, I provide a container l of suitable size and shape advantageously of plastic but by no means necessarily so, having a top 2 fitting closely thereto but removable therefrom. An opening 3 is placed in the bottom of said container and an opening 4 placed oppositely thereto in the top of said container. These openings receive the forming tube 5 extending entirely therethrough, Said forming tube is sealed immovably in opening 3 but the walls of opening 4 are slidable with respect to the walls of said forming tube so that the top member 2 may be removed for the insertion of, the tobacco into said container.

The forming tube 5 has a deep andwidenotch 3 6 cut into the side thereof for admitting tobacco thereinto from the container l. The width and depth of this notch must be sufficient to admit the loose tobacco freely but there is no advantage in having it larger than necessary to serve such purpose. Where the forming tube is approximately 3%, inches long and the container space formed by the container l and the top 2 is approximately 3 by 2 by 1 inches, I have found that a notch {-6 inch long and cutting into the forming tube a distance equal to one half the diameter of said tube is satisfactory.

The forming tube 5 should have a slight in- V ternal divergence from a point near the notch 6 to the discharge end 8 thereof. While this divergence need be only very slight it is necessary that it be present in some degree. Preferably, as illustrated in an exaggerated manner in Figure 5, the divergence from point 24 to point 1 should be substantial and of progressively increasing magnitude. From point I to point 8, the divergence is small and of constant magnitude. By way of example, I have found that the forming tube 5 is satisfactory if the internal diameter at the point 2d is 0.328 inch, at point I the internal diameter is 0.338 inch, and the internal diameter at point 8 is 0.336 inch, the distance from point 24 to point 1 may be approximately one half inch and the distance from point I to point 8 will be approximately the remainder of the length of the cigarette being formed, for the rolled paper will extend from near the point 25 to a point near the point B. The forming tube 5 also contains a bushing 22 fitted tightly thereinto and containing a bearing opening 23 for the reception and alignment of the tamping bar 9 described hereinafter.

The tamping bar 9 is made of any convenient material, such as a suitable plastic. It has a straight and preferably round shank H], a manipulating head I I, a plurality of groove rings l2 cut slightly into the shank l9 and a small angular tamper stop l3. Said tamper stop It is placed onto the shank ill in such a manner that its corners extend slightly beyond the circumferential surface of said shank, for the purpose of clearing any tobacco which may pack around the shank H3 between the tamper stop 'l-i and bushing 23.

The mandrel M comprises a mounting member supporting a tube member 2!. This mounting member first has a small counterbore l5 forming the tapered portion 25. The plug it is made of such a diameter that it will fit snugly into the discharge end 8 of the forming tube as shown in Figure 2. The body part ll is made of slightly larger diameter, sufficient to provide a stop It which acts against the discharge end 8 of said forming tube and holds the plug l6 against further entry thereinto. This support member then has a part i9 of diameter reduced with respect to part ll sufficient to permit its snug fitting within the forming tube 5. Here, too, part ll forms a stop acting against the discharge, end 8 of said forming tube when the mandrel is in the position shown in Figure 1. The extension is of still further reduced diameter and is provided to support the mandrell tube 2| on the said mounting member. The over-all diameter of the mandrel tube 2| as it fits over the extension 2-9 is sufiiciently smaller than the diameter of the part 19 that when a cigarette paper is wrapped around the said mandrel tube it will present an outside diameter substantially equal to that of the part l9, whereby it may be inserted easily but snugly into the interior of the forming tube 5.

The operation of this device is relatively simple. Beginning with a quantity of loose tobacco placed in the container l as shown, the mandrel I4 is removed and a suitable cigarette paper wrapped around the tube 2| thereof and properly moistened to stay in place. The mandrel is then inserted into the forming tube 5 to assume the position shown in Figure 1, wherein the paper is indicated at 25. The mandrel is then withdrawn, leaving the paper within the forming tube 5, and reversed for reinsertion of its plug end 16 as shown in Figure 2. As is also illustrated in Figure 2, the tapered portion 25 will engage the end of the cigarette paper 26 to effect a slight crimping t'hreof at the end 27. The tapered portion between the loading notch 6 and point 1 will hold the paper firmly at its loading end as the tobacco is tamped into place and prevent its crumpling.

With the container I held in a position to drop the tobacco into the notch 6 the tamper 9 is manually reciprocated, by which the tobacco is pushed into place and tamped to any desired degree of firmness. The slight extensions of the corners of the tamping end l3 out from the circumferential surface of the shank l0 break up any tendency of the tobacco to form around the tamping bar so that this filling and tamping process proceeds rapidly and smoothly. The groove rings l2 moving through the opening 23 in the bushing 22 in the first few strokes of the tamper clean out therefrom any fragments of tobacco which may have worked into said bearing opening and thus prevent the tamper from sticking or jamming.

The cigarette will fill rapidly. When it is full the mandrel I l is removed from the discharge end of the formin tube 5 and the tamper 9 used as an ejector to push the cigarette out of said forming tube ready for immediate use. The taper of the entire interior of the forming tube will facilitate this ejection. The mandrel I4 is then replaced into the forming tube 5 in the position shown in Figure l, the tamper 9 returned to its full inward position. The device is thus fully closed against the escape and spilling of loose tobacco and the space occupied by it is reduced to a minimum.

After a few minutes practice any person can quickly and easily produce, by the use of my device, a well formed cigarette packed to any degree of firmness which he desires. With reasonable care my device will not spill tobacco either while carried or while the cigarette is being formed and if well made it can be used indefinitely without requirin repair or replacement of any of its parts. It is important, however, that the parts be well made and that they assume with respect to each other the relationships above-specified with a high degree of precision. Particularly in the forming tube 5 and the several parts of the mandrel M I have found it desirable to operate within a rather close tolerance, such as a plus or minus 0.005 inch, although this may be varied somewhat according to the excellence of the product desired. V V

Obviously, severalvariations may be made in this device which will be obvious to anyone skilled in the art but which will not change the scope or application of my invention. For example, but without intending to limit the extent of such variations which are within the scope of my claims, the tamper stop I 3 might be any of several shapes, such as triangular, provided only that it have portions extending radially beyond the surface of the shank Ill. The counterbore [5 might be eliminated if desired to reduce cost of manufacture but the cigarette made by such device may be somewhat less satisfactory. The forming tube 5 and the associated mechanism may be placed in any direction through the tobacco container providing only the notch 6 is in a position t receive tobacco directly from said container. Other variations will be obvious to one acquainted with this art but all of these will be included within the scope of my hereinafter appended claims excepting where expressly otherwise limited thereby.

I claim:

1. In a device for filling a tube with a comminuted material the combination comprising: an internally tapered forming tube having means near one end thereof admitting said material thereinto; a tamper operable longitudinally within said forming tube and manually manipulated externally of said tube; and a member constituting in one position with respect to said forming tube a mandrel for inserting into said forming tube the tube to be filled and constituting in another position with respect to said forming tube a removable plug temporarily closin the discharge end thereof,

2. In a cigarette forming device for manual operation the combination comprising: a container; a forming tube extending through said container and having an opening through the side thereof communicating with the interior of said container, said forming tube having inner walls diverging from a point near said opening to a point near the discharge end thereof; a tamper longitudinally reciprocable with respect to said forming tube within said forming tube and operable from the exterior thereof; and means in one position comprising a removable mandrel for introducing into said forming tube a paper tube and comprising in another position a removable plug for the discharge end of said forming tube.

3. In a manually operated cigarette making device having a formin tube, means introducing tobacco into said forming tube, a reciprocably operable tamper within said forming tube, the improvement consisting of cooperating mandrel and plug means comprising: a member having a stop portion of diameter greater than the internal diameter of said forming tube; an extension from each side of said stop portion of diameter to fit snugly within said forming tube; a partial counterbore within one of said extensions having internally tapering walls and a further extension extending beyond the other above named extension of diameter to fit snugly within a mandrel tube and support same.

4. In a manually operated cigarette making device having a forming tube, means for introducing tobacco into said forming tube, and a reciprocably operable tamper within said forming tube, the improvement consisting of a cooperating mandrel and plug means comprising: a member having a stop portion of a diameter greater than the internal diameter of said forming tube; and

an extension from each side of said stop portion of a diameter to fit snugly within said forming tube.

ROBERT W. SN ODGRASS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Alland June 25, 1929 

